You Otter Be Reading!
by DaughterofGreece
Summary: At least that what the mysterious voice says. The characters from Percy Jackson and Maximum Ride are sent to a place where they must read books... about themselves. WARNING- this has nothing to do with otters.
1. The Beginning

**A/N: So! New story! Whoop! Not gonna be much romance. I suck at romance. There will, however, be an abundance of snarky comments. I rule at those. OMG. Random revelation- Percy is ****_older_**** than Max in this. O.O Takes place after TLO and Nevermore, blah, blah, blah... without further ado, I bring you...**

_Chapter One: The Beginning (Sucky chapter name, I know. Any suggestions?)_

Percy was- _is_- seriously bored. He's so bored that he's past boredom. Not that that's a big deal for him. He's getting bored easily these days. Percy figured that after all the excitement of the Titan War, he'd be bored, but anything he does feels boring.

Maybe he just has a short attention span.

Like a goldfish.

Wait, goldfish have short _memory_ spans.

Never mind.

He's still bored. Times infinity.

Percy sighed. He was lying on the floor in Cabin Three (why the floor, he had no clue) and thinking about random stuff. _This is probably boring the readers, watching you being bored_, I said to him. He doesn't care. Then, suddenly, his door flew open.

"Percy? What are you doing on the ground?" It was Grover.

"I dunno. What's up?"

"Chiron is holding an emergency meeting. It's important. He won't tell anyone why until you come!"

Percy frowned. "That's weird."

"I know! Come _on!_"

He got up and followed Grover to the Big House. Seated around the table was Katie Gardner, Travis and Connor Stoll, Clarisse, Annabeth, Nico, Rachel, and... wait for it...

"Thalia! What are you doing here?"

Thalia laughed. "Nice to see you too, Fish Face."

Chiron cleared his throat. "Yes, come to order, please. Travis, how many times do you have to light a Ping-Pong ball on fire to see if it would burn? It does, because you've nearly burned down the house at least five times."

"Sorry," said Travis, clearly not sorry at all.

"Right. Well, Rachel has had a vision saying clearly that there is some sort of portal and the ten of you are supposed to go through it. I believe that it is not a trap."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Huh? A _portal?_ Where does it lead? Who made it? Who sent the vision?" Thalia's rapid-fire questions were answered with a shake of Rachel's head.

"We don't know, Thalia," she said calmly. "That's why we're going through it."

Grover nearly choked. "You want us to go through a mysterious portal to some unknown place to meet some unknown person?"

"I don't know," said Annabeth carefully. "There are a lot of variables in this."

Clarisse snorted. "Look, Princess, this isn't one of your math problems. We either go through this portal or we don't."

"I say yes," said Katie slowly. When everyone looked at her, she said, "Well, if the people on the other side are enemies, we _can_ fight, you know. And if we can get there, there must be a way back."

"I see your point," agreed Annabeth.

"We say yes!" said Travis.

Connor frowned at his twin. "Whoa, whoa, dude! I didn't say anything like that!"

Clarisse scowled. "Let's get this over with, already."

"Yay or nay?" asked Thalia at the same time Travis and Connor said, "All in favor say 'Aye'!" with fake pirate accents. The room was filled with a confusing mix of 'aye's (the Stolls), 'yay's (Katie, Annabeth, Nico, Percy, Rachel, Clarisse, Thalia), and 'nay's (Grover). Then the Stolls started bugging everyone loudly ("you didn't say 'aye'!). Poor Chiron had to shout to be heard over the din.

"Quiet, please! Quiet! Majority rules! TRAVIS, DON'T SHOUT! BE QUIET, EVERYBODY!" Finally everybody quieted down.

"Now, I am sorry, Grover, but you _will_ have to go through. Yes?"

Grover whimpered.

"I'll take that as a yes. Now, Rachel, if you'll do the honors?"

Rachel closed her eyes and concentrated. Black smoke curled out from her mouth and formed a large black hole in the air. When she opened her eyes again, she was back to normal.

"There! Shall we go through? Let's see, Nico! You've been quiet. Why don't you go first?"

Nico gulped. "Um... ladies first. Why doesn't Thalia?"

Thalia rolled her eyes. "I would, but when we get there, we might be in a big doggy pile. I'd get crushed. Have Grover. If he landed on somebody, he'd hurt them with his hooves. He should be on the bottom."

Everybody agreed with this logic.

Grover looked scared. "Um..." He never finshed his sentence. Thalia gave him a gentle push, and he stumbled forward into the portal. His head disappeared. Then the rest of him followed. It looked like he was going under a black blanket head-first. Connor shrugged and jumped in, followed by Travis, followed by Percy, followed by Nico. Then Clarisse went, then Annabeth, then Thalia, then Katie. Rachel was the last one.

"See ya, Chiron!" she called cheerfully, and jumped.

The old centaur froze. So did the rest of the camp.

_It feels like I'm floating through a tunnel, _thought Connor. _Oh, hello! There's Grover. Scared to death, looks like. Wonder if I can turn around and see Travis...What's that light?_

There was, indeed, and golden light shimmering ahead. As Connor watched,Grover slipped through the light and was gone. A moment later, Connor followed. He fell into blinding brightness on top of Grover. He didn't have time to do anything, since Travis landed on top of him with an _oof._ Then everyone else poured out of the portal and practically crushed Grover and Connor.

"Jeez, Nico, how many pounds do you weigh? Two billion?" Percy's muffled voice protested.

"Ouch! Clarisse is no- ouch!- featherweight either! Ouch!" That was Nico, crushed under Clarisse.

"Food," moaned Grover.

"Ow! Being on the top is no fun, 'cause- ow!- you roll off and land on the- huh?" Rachel got up, puzzled. She had landed on a girl, but she didn't recognize her.

"Ouch! Did you really have to land on me? Who are you, anyway? Ow! Ig- I'm okay-" This last part was addressed to a tall fifteen-year-old boy who accidentally poked her in the shin.

The unknown girl staggered upright and scowled at Rachel. She was pretty, about fifteen, tall and skinny with straight light brown hair and brown eyes that should have been warm but weren't at the moment because... well, you heard it the first time. She was scowling at Rachel.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

Rachel blinked. "Um... I'm Rachel?" she offered.

"You don't sound too sure of yourself," pointed out the other unknown teen. He was _really_ tall, over six feet, and he had light skin, strawberry blond hair, and was... blind?

"She _is _Rachel. Who are _you,_ anyway?" It was Nico.

"Who wants to know?" asked another voice. It was _another_ unknown teenager. He looked about fifteen, like his friends, and had olive-toned skin, black hair, and _really _dark eyes. In fact, he could have been Nico's older brother.

"Whoa... creepy..." muttered Percy, who had joined them.

"What? Oh... gods..." said Nico, not having noticed the similarity before.

"Repeat: Who are you?" asked Unknown Teen #2. "And what's everyone talking about?"

"There's this kid, and he's like a photocopy of... Mr. Tall, Dark, and Silent, if you catch my drift. Except he's shorter. And younger," said Unknown Teen #1.

"Mr. Tall, Dark, and Silent?" asked Unknown Teen #3, a.k.a. Nico's Photocopy.

Unknown Teen #1 shrugged. "You're tall, dark, and silent," she said.

Unknown Teen #3 (a.k.a. Nico's Photocopy) sighed. "Look, how about we just _introduce _ourselves?"

"Nico," said Nico flatly, gesturing to himself and scowling at Unknown Teen #3 (a.k.a. Nico's... you get the picture. If you don't, then for my sanity's sake, get with it). "Rachel. Percy. Where's everyone else?"

Rachel pointed. Their friends had just untangled themselves from the big doggy pile (why they call it a doggy pile, I have no clue) and were walking towards them.

"Who are they?" Annabeth asked Percy, gesturing towards the unknown teens.

"We can _talk,_ you know," said Unknown Teen #1 irritably. "I'm Max. Mr. Tall, Dark, and Silent over there is Fang. The blind one is Iggy."

"Oh, how nice. 'The blind one'. Thanks for that, Max," said Unknown Teen #2, a.k.a. Iggy. "Who's the new girl?"

Annabeth blinked. "Me? I'm Annabeth."

Clarisse sighed. "Since we're doing introductions, you might as well know that I'm Clarisse."

Connor stuck out his hand at Unknown Teen #1, a.k.a. Max. "I'm Connor. Nice to meet you." She stared at his hand pointedly until he frowned and put his hand down.

"Katie."

"Grover."

"Gosh, how many of you _are_ there?" asked Iggy.

"A lot. Travis. How many of _you_ are there?"

"There should be seven... where's everyone else?" asked Max, looking worried.

"Here!" said a little seven-year-old, popping out from nowhere.

"Oh, thank God," said Max, looking relieved. "This is Angel."

"Whoa," said another voice. "Where in the world _are_ we?"

For the first time, everyone noticed the large room they were in. It had a high, white arched ceiling and fluffy dark gray wall-to-wall carpeting. Bean bags in neutral colors such as tan, brown, and gray were set in a circle. Large windows showed a gloomy gray sky and green grass.

"It's like the modern Room of Requirement," commented the person who had noticed it first.

"The Room of _what?"_ said another voice. "I'm Gazzy. What's the Room of whatever-it-is?"

"Is it from a movie? Nudge."

"I'm Dylan. The Room of Requirement is something from Harry Potter." Dylan was actually cute, by Rachel's standards. Blond hair, blue eyes.

"Why are we here?" demanded Clarisse impatiently.

"Who knows?" muttered Travis.

_I do. _A soft voice floated from somewhere above them.

"Whoa... creepy much?" Max said, starting.

Angel crept closer to her and murmured something that only Max could hear. She smiled down at Angel.

"Thanks, sweetie."

Rachel frowned. Max was obviously close to Angel, because Max definitely did _not_ seem like the type of person to call anyone sweetie.

_Do not worry. I am a friend. You have come here because of two book series that would do you good to read. And please, no fighting amongst yourselves. We cannot deal with any injuries unless they are afflicted by an enemy._

"First of all, who talks like that?" asked Connor. "I mean, we're in the twenty-first century, for Zeus' sake. And second, why the heck would we be sent to somewhere random just to read a couple books?"

_Please sit,_ the voice said, ignoring Connor. It wasn't so much a suggestion as an order.

They all sat. Not surprisingly, there was just enough bean bags to accommodate everyone.

A thick green paperback book sat on the low white table. Percy picked it up and studied the cover. Then he dropped the book in surprise.

"Oh my gods."

Annabeth reached over and grabbed the book. "_Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book One- The Lightning Thief. _Who- what- how-"

"Who wrote it?" demanded Thalia, sitting forward.

"Some guy named Rick Riordan. Oh yeah- I remember. He wrote those Egyptian mythology books and the one called, like, the 39 Clues. How the heck did he know?"

_You will figure that out in due time. However, right now your job is to read the book. Read it out loud, starting with Percy, and going around. One chapter per person. Now, Percy? If you'll do the honors?_

Percy grumbled, but he flipped through the book to the first chapter. "Chapter One- I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher..."

**Okay, guys, what do you think? Review! Okay- lyrics time.**

**I never let love in/So I can keep my heart from hurting/The longer that I live with this idea/The more I sink in/In this 4/4 beat I'm in time with you/In this 4/4 beat I would die for you**

**Yay! First reviewer to say what song this is from gets a shout-out and a review! Yay! See ya laterrrrr...**

**-Holly**


	2. AN

Important note! I'm going on vacay for two whole weeks. Can't update. So you'll have to wait. Sorry, people. Just FYI. In case you haven't read my profile. I'm not dead.

-Holly

P.S. I know that posting just a AN is against FF rules, but this is an emergency. So are you listening?


	3. Vaporizing Pre-Algebra Teachers

**Hi people! I am so sorry about the late update. I just got back, and the first thing I did was to get on here and update. Read the bottom note! Please! More down there! Ahem.**

linebreakyay

**Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood.**

"What the heck is a half-blood?" Max demanded.

"Something that you don't wanna be. Duh," retorted Percy.

"You're so descriptive, y'know? You should write a book."

**If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now. Believe whatever lie you mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.**

"Right, that'll work," Clarisse snorted. "If they're anything like us, they'll read on because you said that."

"Whatever. I was twelve," Percy defended himself.

**Being a half-blood is dangerous. It's scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways.**

"Well, now we all totally wanna be half-bloods," Iggy said sarcastically. "And seriously, what is a half-blood?"

"It'll explain later," Connor said airily. He liked knowing stuff that other people didn't.

"They're half mortal, half Greek god," Angel informed the flock.

"How did you know that?" Travis demanded, startled. Partly because those had been his exact thoughts.

"Angel can read minds," Nudge explained.

"What? How-" the demigods said, stunned.

"Yep."

"Wait, so if you're part Greek god, who are your parents?" asked Fang.

"Percy's Poseidon, Thalia's Zeus, Nico's Hades, Travis and Connor are Hermes, I'm Athena, Katie's Demeter, Clarisse's Ares, and Rachel's the Oracle of Delphi," Annabeth said.

**If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think its fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened.**

**But if you recognize yourself in these pages—if you feel something stirring inside—stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it's only a matter of time before they sense it too, and they'll come for you.**

"Oooh, cue the ominous music. I mean really Perce, do you really have to be so dramatic?" Thalia asked at the same time as Nico said, "Dun dun duuuun! Seriously Percy? Little over-the-top, dontcha think?"

"Oh, how cute! The cousins think alike!" Nudge cooed.

Max snorted. "Knowing Nudge, she isn't being sarcastic, either."

**Don't say I didn't warn you.**

"Again with the drama!"

**My name is Percy Jackson.**

"Nooooo! How could we have ever guessed? Our own friend and hero!" shrieked the Stolls simultaneously.

Percy rolled his eyes and continued.

**I'm twelve years old. Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.**

**Am I a troubled kid?**

"Yes," Annabeth said.

"Definitely," agreed Thalia.

"Are you kidding me?" Travis asked.

"Heck yeah," Max said.

"Hey wait! You've only known me for, like, ten minutes!" Percy said, frowning at Max.

She shrugged. "What can I say? Freaks have internal radars for other freaks."

**Yeah. You could say that.**

The whole room burst into laughter.

"See, even you agree!" cackled the Gasman.

**I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May, when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan—twenty-eight mental-case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff.**

"Meh. Been on more interesting field trips," said Max.

Fang gave her a weird look. "You've only been on one field trip."

She shrugged. "But it was more interesting."

"How can something be more interesting than our history?" demanded Annabeth furiously.

Max gave her a blank look. "History?"

"She's not a demigod, Annabeth," Katie reminded her.

"Oh. Right."

**I know—it sounds like torture. Most Yancy field trips were.**

"It does not sound like torture!"

"We get it, brainiac, we get it. Now shut up."

**But Mr. Brunner, our Latin teacher, was leading this trip, so I had hopes.**

Annabeth frowned. "Percy, isn't that what you called-"

Percy cut her off. "Yep."

**Mr. Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee. You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put me to sleep.**

"You sleep during class?" Iggy asked with some interest.

"Yeah," Percy said warily. After all, his girlfriend _was_ Annabeth.

"Awesome!" Iggy declared, holding up his hand for a high-five.

**I hoped the trip would be okay. At least, I hoped that for once I wouldn't get in trouble.**

"Right," said Rachel sarcastically. "Just so you know, Perseus Jackson never, ever stays out of trouble."

**Boy was I wrong.**

"SEE?"

**See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary war cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus, but of course I got expelled anyway.**

"You are awesome," Gazzy proclaimed. "The end."

"I know right?" Iggy asked excitedly. "That totally sounds like something we would do!"

**And before that, at my fourth-grade school, when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim. And the time before that…Well, you get the idea.**

"Percy, my friend, you have just earned yourself a spot in the exclusive Die Erasers Club!" Gazzy said.

Iggy frowned. "Gaz, I thought that we changed the name to, like, the Blow-Up Club. Fits better, ya know?"

**All the way into the city, I put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, hitting my best friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich.**

"Who eats peanut butter and ketchup together? That's... repulsive."

"And yet this is coming from the girl who eats fried desert rat no problem."

**Grover was an easy target. He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated.**

"Well, thanks, Perce. Glad to know you think so highly of me," commented Grover.

**He must have been held back several grades, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. On top of all that, he was crippled. He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him, but don't let that fool you. You should've seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.**

"Grover! Cover!" scolded Annabeth.

"Sorry," he muttered. "They had really good enchiladas."

"No, they didn't," Percy muttered. "They tasted like feet."

"And _how_ do you know what feet taste like?"

**Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in his curly brown hair, and she knew I couldn't do anything back to her because I was already on probation. The headmaster had threatened me with death by in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip**.

"And that just took all the fun out of it, didn't it." Travis made a face.

**"I'm going to kill her," I mumbled.**

"Do it!" grumbled Clarisse. We need some action in this story!"

Annabeth gave her a look of scorn. "Clarisse, we just started the first chapter."

**Grover tried to calm me down. "It's okay. I like peanut butter."**

"Who doesn't?" Nudge commented. "I mean really, peanut butter is like the food that everyone likes. I could totally eat, like, a whole jar of peanut butter right now. Peanut butter is good. But not the creamy kind. The crunchy kind is the best to eat right out of the jar. Of course, you get sticky fingers and a sticky mouth, but still it's totally worth it! Omigosh, once I gave Max a makeover! She looked so good! But then she went and changed back. She doesn't like makeup and stuff, you know, but- OHMYGOD! Do you believe in unicorns? I love uni-"

"Nudge? Could you, y'know... stop talking?" Rachel asked tentatively.

**He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch.**

**"That's it." I started to get up, but Grover pulled me back to my seat.**

**"You're already on probation," he reminded me. "You know who'll get blamed if anything happens."**

**Looking back on it, I wish I'd decked Nancy Bobofit right then and there. In-school suspension would've been nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into.**

"Again with the drama."

**Mr. Brunner led the museum tour.**

**He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding us through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery.**

"I wanna go there," Annabeth said dreamily.

**It blew my mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand, three thousand years.**

"More than that, even, Seaweed Brain. Gods, I would so love to go there..."

Yes, you can guess. Annabeth. _Duh_.

**He gathered us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top, and started telling us how it was a grave marker, a stele, for a girl about our age. He told us about the carvings on the sides. I was trying to listen to what he had to say, because it was kind of interesting, but everybody around me was talking, and every time I told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give me the evil eye.**

**Mrs. Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker. She had come to Yancy halfway through the year, when our last math teacher had a nervous breakdown.**

"A nervous breakdown? Please. Because that's _so_ likely," snorted Thalia.

**From her first day, Mrs. Dodds loved Nancy Bobofit and figured I was devil spawn.**

"Wait wait wait, hold on. Wouldn't Percy be, like, sea spawn? 'Cause Poseidon's the god of the sea? Isn't devil spawn Nico?" Max asked.

"She's like you, Thalia," said Percy.

**She would point her crooked finger at me and say, "Now, honey," real sweet, and I knew I was going to get after-school detention for a month.**

**One time, after she'd made me erase answers out of old math workbooks until midnight, I told Grover I didn't think Mrs. Dodds was human. He looked at me, real serious, and said, "You're absolutely right."**

"Again, Grover! COVER!" said Katie.

"Sorry, sorry!"

**Mr. Brunner kept talking about Greek funeral art.**

**Finally, Nancy Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the stele, and I turned around and said, "Will you just shut up?"**

"Go Percy! Go Percy!" cheered the Stolls.

**It came out louder than I meant it to.**

**The whole group laughed. Mr. Brunner stopped his story.**

**"Mr. Jackson," he said, "did you have a comment?"**

"Good old-" began Percy, chuckling at the memory.

"No! Percy, don't give it away!" Annabeth exclaimed, having figured it out long before this.

He sighed. "Yeah, whatever."

**My face was totally red. I said, "No, sir."**

**Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"**

**I looked at the carving, and felt a flush of relief, because I actually recognized it.**

"Oh my gods, Percy, YOU ACTUALLY RECOGNIZED SOMETHING!" Nico shrieked.

"This is a monumental moment for each and every one of us!" agreed Thalia.

**"That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"**

"No dip, Sherlock," sighed Travis. "We knew that waaay before you did."

"Hold on," said Percy. "You didn't see it, and you never knew what was on it until I read it."

"We know," Iggy said. "We're just trying to make you feel dumb."

**"Yes." Mr. Brunner said, obviously not satisfied. "And he did this because…"**

**"Well…" I racked my brain to remember. "Kronos was the king god, and—"**

"GOD?!" yelled every single demigod.

"Seriously, Percy?" added Annabeth. "I thought that you were smarter than this."

Percy scowled.

**"God?" Mr. Brunner asked.**

**"Titan," I corrected myself. "And…he didn't trust his kids, who where the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters—"**

**"Eeew!" said one of the girls behind me.**

"What's so eeew about it?" commented Max. "I've seen worse."

Fang sighed. "Most mortal girls aren't like you, Max."

**"—and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," I continues, "and the gods won."**

**Some snickers from the group.**

"Wait, what?" Rachel asked. "You got it right..."

Dylan shrugged. "People are confusing."

For some reason, Rachel blushed.

**Behind me, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"**

**"And why, Mr. Jackson," Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"**

"Because... oh, I dunno, you're gonna freaking FIGHT him?" snorted Nico.

**"Busted," Grover muttered.**

**"Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair.**

"Must be pretty bright," said Connor offhandedly.

"That was totally random," his brother said to him, giving him a weird look.

"Eh. I've said weirder."

**At least Nancy got packed, too. Mr. Brunner was the only one who ever caught her saying anything wrong. He had radar ears.**

"Or horse ears," Connor interjected.

"Yeah... wait, when did you figure it out?" asked Percy, surprised.

"Dunno. Like, the first time you mentioned him?"

**I thought about his question, and shrugged. "I don't know, sir."**

**"I see." Mr. Brunner looked disappointed. "Well, half credit, Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"**

**The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other and acting like doofuses.**

"When are guys not doofuses," quipped Thalia. It was more a statement rather than a question.

"Never. Never ever have I met a guy that hasn't been a doofus some time or another," Max said.

"Exactly."

"I have a feeling that Max and this Thalia chick are gonna get along well," Fang muttered to Iggy under his breath. "They're both total feminists."

**Grover and I were about to follow when Mr. Brunner said, "Mr. Jackson."**

**I knew that was coming.**

**I told Grover to keep going. Then I turned toward Mr. Brunner. "Sir?"**

**Mr. Brunner had this look that wouldn't let you go— intense brown eyes that could've been a thousand years old and had seen everything.**

"Yep! Pretty much everything," said Travis cheerfully.

**"You must learn the answer to my question," Mr. Brunner told me.**

**"About the Titans?"**

"No. Duh." That was, obviously, Nico.

**"About real life. And how your studies apply to it."**

**"Oh."**

**"What you learn from me," he said, "is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson."**

**I wanted to get angry, this guy pushed me so hard.**

"Well, he trains heroes," said Connor. "Whaddaya expect? For him to give us Algebra every alternate Thursday and be done with it?"

"Alternate Thursdays?" commented Percy, miffed.

"Yeah, whatever."

"Algebra?"

"Percy, just read," Connor said, exasperated.

"What's the magic word?"

"NOW!"

"Touchy."

**I mean, sure, it was kind of cool on tournament days, when he dressed up in a suit of Roman armor and shouted: "What ho!'" and challenged us, sword-point against chalk, to run to the board and name every Greek and Roman person who had ever lived, and their mother, and what god they worshipped.**

"God, that would be hard," said Gazzy.

"You have no idea."

**But Mr. Brunner expected me to be as good as everybody else, despite the fact that I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder and I had never made above a C— in my life. No—he didn't expect me to be as good; he expected me to be better. And I just couldn't learn all those names and facts, much less spell them correctly.**

**I mumbled something about trying harder, while Mr. Brunner took one long sad look at the stele, like he'd been at this girl's funeral.**

"He probably was, Prissy. Duh," said Clarisse.

**He told me to go outside and eat my lunch.**

**The class gathered on the front steps of the museum, where we could watch the foot traffic along Fifth Avenue.**

**Overhead, a huge storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than I'd ever seen over the city. I figured maybe it was global warming or something, because the weather all across New York state had been weird since Christmas.**

"Or maybe it could be, like, I dunno, fighting gods?" suggested Grover.

"I hate global warming," said Iggy.

**We'd had massive snow storms, flooding, wildfires from lightning strikes. I wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in.**

"Or-"

"Yes, yes, Grover, we get it," said Percy.

"I only said it twice."

"I know, I'm just tired of being told how stupid I am. Annabeth is enough."

**Nobody else seemed to notice. Some of the guys were pelting pigeons with Lunchables crackers.**

"Eeeeew. Lunchables are disgusting," said Rachel, making a face.

"They're pelting pigeons with crackers, and all you think about is LUNCHABLES?! I thought you cared about nature!" Grover yelled, his face turning from pink to red. "About the planet! Pigeons are innocent! They-"

"About now would be a good time, Percy."

**Nancy Bobofit was trying to pickpocket something from a lady's purse, and, of course, Mrs. Dodds wasn't seeing a thing.**

**Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We thought that maybe if we did that, everybody wouldn't know we were from that school—the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it elsewhere.**

"Right, good luck with _that_," said Max, rolling her eyes.

**"Detention?" Grover asked.**

**"Nah," I said. "Not from Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean—I'm not a genius."**

"No, you're not. Obviously."

**Grover didn't say anything for a while. Then, when I thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he said, "Can I have your apple?"**

Everyone cracked up at this.

"Smooth, G-Man," Travis gasped.

**I didn't have much of an appetite, so I let him take it.**

**I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue, and thought about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sat. I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I wanted so bad to jump in a taxi and head home. She'd hug me and be glad to see me, but she'd be disappointed, too. She'd send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even if this was my sixth school in six years and I was probably going to be kicked out again. I wouldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me.**

**Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized cafe table.**

"Cool!" commented Travis. "I wonder if he still has that anywhere..."

"And what would you do with it?" asked Max, narrowing her eyes at them.

"Uh, nothing?"

Katie snorted. "Don't believe them. They can make trouble out of anything. Especially chocolate Easter bunnies."

"Hey! Kates! That's a low blow! Besides, I said we were sorry."

"Who's talking about low blows again?"

**I was about to unwrap my sandwich when Nancy Bobofit appeared in front of me with her ugly friends—I guess she'd gotten tired of stealing from the tourists—and dumped her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap.**

"Jerk," Max and Annabeth muttered simultaneously. Them they looked at each other in surprise.

"You don't even know me," Grover said, stunned.

Max snorted. "Yeah, I don't know you, but I what I do know is that I hate- _hate_- bullies that are mean to people for no reason at all."

"...You sound like Percy."

"HEY!" both Percy and Max yelled in unison.

**"Oops." She grinned at me with her crooked teeth. Her freckles were orange, as if somebody had spray-painted her face with liquid Cheetos.**

"Nice description," said Clarisse approvingly.

"Only Clarisse would approve of liquid Cheetos," said Travis.

**I tried to stay cool.**

**The school counselor had told me a million times, "Count to ten, get control of your temper." But I was so mad my mind went blank. A wave roared in my ears.**

"Oh gods, don't do it," Annabeth said nervously, even though she knew he would.

**I don't remember touching her, but the next thing I knew, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!"**

**Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us.**

**Some of the kids were whispering: "Did you see—"**

**"—the water—"**

**"—like it grabbed her—"**

"High five, bro!" cheered Iggy, Gazzy, Travis, and Connor.

"Gods- it's like having the Stoll brothers cloned," Katie muttered.

**I didn't know what they were talking about.**

**All I knew was that I was in trouble again.**

"Like always," sighed Annabeth.

**As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop, etc., etc., Mrs. Dodds turned on me. There was a triumphant fire in her eyes, as if I'd done something she'd been waiting for all semester. "Now, honey—"**

**I know," I grumbled. "A month erasing workbooks."**

"Wrong thing to say," said Travis, frowning at Percy. "C'mon, dude, I thought that we taught you better than _that_."

"You haven't even met me in this yet."

"Oh. Right."

**That wasn't the right thing to say.**

"YOU SEE?"

"Yes, he does see, seeing as he just thought that," retorted Max.

"Make that having Thalia _and_ the Stolls cloned," muttered Katie.

**"Come with me," Mrs. Dodds said.**

**"Wait!" Grover yelped. "It was me. I pushed her."**

"Thanks for that, dude," Percy said.

**I stared at him, stunned. I couldn't believe he was trying to cover for me. Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death.**

**She glared at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled.**

**"I don't think so, Mr. Underwood," she said.**

**"But—"**

**"You—will—stay—here."**

**Grover looked at me desperately.**

**"It's okay, man," I told him. "Thanks for trying."**

**"Honey," Mrs. Dodds barked at me. "Now."**

**Nancy Bobofit smirked.**

**I gave her my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare.**

"And that's so scary," snorted Nico.

"Yeah? Let's see yours."

Nico glared.

"My gods, Nico, that's _scary_."

"Ya see?"

**Then I turned to face Mrs. Dodds, but she wasn't there. She was standing at the museum entrance, way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at me to come on.**

**How'd she get there so fast?**

"She's a monster," Connor said patiently. "Monsters have superhuman speed. _Duh_."

**I have moments like that a lot, when my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I've missed something, as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank place behind it. The school counselor told me this was part of the ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.**

**I wasn't so sure.**

**I went after Mrs. Dodds.**

**Halfway up the steps, I glanced back at Grover. He was looking pale, cutting his eyes between me and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on, but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel.**

**I looked back up. Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall.**

**Okay, I thought. She's going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop.**

"I wish," muttered Grover. "My job would be a whole lot easier."

**But apparently that wasn't the plan. I followed her deeper into the museum. When I finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek and Roman section.**

**Except for us, the gallery was empty.**

**Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throat, like growling.**

**Even without the noise, I would've been nervous. It's weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs. Dodds. Something about the way she looked at the frieze, as if she wanted to pulverize it...**

**"You've been giving us problems, honey," she said.**

**I did the safe thing.**

"For once," Thalia snorted. But everyone could see that she was nervous. Percy _was_ her cousin, after all.

**I said, "Yes, ma'am."**

**She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"**

**The look in her eyes was beyond mad. It was evil. She's a teacher, I thought nervously. It's not like she's going to hurt me.**

"Think again, my dear Watson."

"God, your fake British accent sucks."

**I said, "I'll—I'll try harder, ma'am."**

**Thunder shook the building.**

**"We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."**

**I didn't know what she was talking about.**

**All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my dorm room.**

**Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay on Tom Sawyer from the Internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to take away my grade. Or worse, they were going to make me read the book.**

"Hey! Tom Sawyer was actually good!" exclaimed Dylan.

Percy frowned. "What guy like Tom freaking Sawyer?"

Iggy snorted. "Again with the Maxness. God."

**"Well?" she demanded.**

**"Ma'am, I don't..."**

**"Your time is up," she hissed.**

**Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons.**

"_God_ that's creepy."

**Then things got even stranger.**

**Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand.**

**"What ho, Percy!" he shouted, and tossed the pen through the air.**

"What ho? Seriously, Chiron?" snorted Travis.

"Who?"

"Never mind."

**Mrs. Dodds lunged at me.**

**With a yelp, I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear. I snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, but when it hit my hand, it wasn't a pen anymore. It was a sword—Mr. Brunner's bronze sword, which he always used on tournament day.**

**Mrs. Dodds spun toward me with a murderous look in her eyes. My knees were jelly. My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the sword. She snarled, "Die, honey!"**

"The 'honey' thing is getting annoying," said Max.

"Thank god the whitecoats never called us 'honey'," agreed Iggy.

"Okay, now that is one disturbing mental image."

**And she flew straight at me.**

**Absolute terror ran through my body. I did the only thing that came naturally: I swung the sword. The metal blade hit her shoulder and passed clean through her body as if she were made of water.**

"Do you associate everything with water?" asked Iggy. "Since you're the son of Poseidon and all?"

"Yes," chorused all the demigods, bar Percy.

**Hisss!**

**Mrs. Dodds was a sand castle in a power fan.**

"Again, nice descriptions," commented Max.

**She exploded into yellow powder, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two glowing red eyes were still watching me.**

**I was alone.**

**There was a ballpoint pen in my hand.**

**Mr. Brunner wasn't there. Nobody was there but me.**

"God, if that was me, I'd feel so crazy," said Nudge. "Like, not hyper crazy, just cuckoo crazy, like I should be checked into a mental hospital. I mean, wouldn't you? Wouldn't everyone? And really-"

"Please keep reading before she goes off again."

**My hands were still trembling. My lunch must've been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something.**

"Exactly what I was saying!"

**Had I imagined the whole thing? I went back outside. It had started to rain.**

**Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit was still standing there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. When she saw me, she said, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."**

"Uh... who?" asked Gazzy, frowning.

**I said, "Who?"**

**"Our teacher. Duh!"**

**I blinked. We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr. I asked Nancy what she was talking about. She just rolled her eyes and turned away. I asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was.**

**He said, "Who?"**

**But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at me, so I thought he was messing with me.**

"Grover, you need lying lessons," Max said.

"Right. Take it from the Queen of Lying," snorted Iggy.

"You do lie a lot," commented Nudge.

**"Not funny, man," I told him. "This is serious." Thunder boomed overhead. I saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book, as if he'd never moved. I went over to him.**

**He looked up, a little distracted. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."**

"I don't know who this guy is, but he's awesome!" cackled the Gasman.

**I handed Mr. Brunner his pen. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.**

**"Sir," I said, "where's Mrs. Dodds?"**

**He stared at me blankly. "Who?"**

**"The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."**

**He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right?"**

"You see, Grover? That's good lying." Max sat up, swinging her legs over the edge of the beanbag. "I'll read next."

**So! Like I said, I'm sorry. I came back with a cold, but I wrote this for ya. Like? Please review! About the song challenge- sorry, guys. That one was kinda hard. It was Stop This Song (Lovesick Melody) by Paramore, but it wasn't officially released, so yeah. Thank you everyone who motivated me and reviewed the last chapter. Oh! And- did anyone catch the reference in the AN? Review if you did!**

**_Broken bottles under children's feet/Bodies strewn across the dead end street/But I won't heed the battle call/It puts my back up/Puts my back up against the wall_**

**You guys know the drill...**

**-Holly**

**P.S. Oh, hey, just a question- do you think that there should be Dylan/Rachel? I mean, it's totally a crack pairing, but I put Rachel as having a little crush on Dylan (because let's face it- the guy's gorgeous). Should it go any further? Review and tell me!**


	4. Socks of Fate

**Yo. I am so sorry about the (sorta) late update- I've been focusing on my other story, and basketball season started recently (I'm on my school's team), and I'm now obsessed with oneshots/drabbles/fluff. Mostly Fax. Check out my favorites on my profile- a bunch of 'em are that sorta thing. So anywho... thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed! YOU ARE AWESOME!**

**Oh, and I never did a disclaimer. So here you are!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson, Maximum Ride, Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy, or Madagascar.**

"Chapter Two-" Max began, but Angel interrupted her.

"Where's Total?" she asked worriedly.

"I swear, that dog," Max muttered.

"I'm here," Total croaked, crawling out from under the coffee table.

"Total!" Angel exclaimed, scooping him up and hugging him. "Have you been under there the entire time?"

"Yep, because _someone_ forgot about me," Total grumbled, but he licked Angel's cheek.

"A... talking dog?" asked Nico, edging away from Total.

"Yeah. Got a problem with it?" Total demanded.

"Uh... no?"

"Good." Total settled down in Angel's lap and looked at everyone. "So?" he said finally. "Who's who?"

"She's Annabeth, he's Percy, she's Thalia, he's Nico, she's Clarisse, the twins are Travis and Connor, that's Katie, he's Grover, and she's Rachel," Nudge said.

All in one breath.

_Whoa._

"And _what_ are we here for?" Total asked.

"We're reading a bunch of books," said Nico.

"No one knows why," added Thalia.

"And they're in my point of view," Percy groaned.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning it's an entire book of my thoughts."

Total eyed the paperback. "I dunno, looks kinda big to me."

The room burst into laughter.

"So anyway," Annabeth said, still grinning. "Should we start?"

"Three Old Ladies Knit The Socks Of Death," Max read. "What the heck does that mean?"

Annabeth gripped at her boyfriend's arm. "Do you really mean..." she asked, her tone nervous.

Percy nodded.

"Oh gods... why didn't you tell me?" Annabeth groaned nervously.

"It isn't me," Percy assured her, but his heart clenched when he thought of who it actually was.

"Who?" asked Max, slightly annoyed at being ignored.

"No one," Grover said hurriedly at the same time that Percy said, "You'll find out."

Max scowled but started reading again.

**I was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly. This twenty-four/seven hallucination was more than I could handle. For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me. The rest of the kids acted like they were totally and completely convinced that Mrs. Kerr- a perky blond woman that I had never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip-had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas.**

"Whoa," Iggy said. "That would be _creepy."_

"Again with feeling crazy-" Nudge began, but this time Rachel, who sat next to her, knew to clamp her hand on her mouth before she could continue.

"Read, Max, quick before she starts talking again!" Rachel said. Nudge was making muffled noises from behind Rachel's hand.

**Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me like I was psycho.**

**It got so I almost believed them- Mrs. Dodds had never existed.**

**Almost.**

**But Grover couldn't fool me. When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, then claim she didn't exist**.

"Oh, God, Grover," groaned Max. "You really need to learn to lie."

"I agree," said Rachel. "I mean, lying isn't the best thing to do every day, but it really helps in some situations."

**Something was going on. Something had happened at the museum.**

"Figured that out yourself, did you?" said Nico, rolling his eyes.

Percy frowned. "Didn't Draco Malfoy say that once?"

**I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat.**

**The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood. One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room. A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy. One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.**

**I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. My grades slipped from Ds to Fs. I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends. I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class.**

Iggy opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Max cut him off. "Iggy! Don't you _dare_ compliment him!"

"Why?" asked Iggy, pouting. "I mean, it's not like you're Miss Teacher's Pet."

Max rolled her eyes. "Because we don't go to school, genius."

"We _did,"_ Iggy pointed out.

"Yeah, for less than a year."

"Irrelevant."

"Ooh, Iggy used a big word."

Katie sighed and looked at Fang. "Are they always like this?"

He nodded and nudged Iggy with his foot.

"What?" Iggy demanded, turning and looking in Fang's general direction.

Fang sighed. "Get on with it."

**Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him an old sot. I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good**.

Everyone bar Percy and Nudge started cracking up.

"What? What does it mean?" Percy asked, bewildered.

"It- it means-" gasped Dylan.

"What?" said Nudge looking confused.

"You called your English teacher a- an old drunk," said Total, who was collapsed on Angel's feet, practically crying.

"Brilliant," chokes Gazzy.

"Hey, how do Angel and the Gasman know what that means?" asked Travis, frowning. It didn't seem like the sort of thing that little kids should know.

"I just read Max's mind," Angel says innocently.

"Iggy called a whitecoat that once," added the Gasman. "It was hilarious."

"I don't remember that," Nudge said.

"Wait, what are whitecoats?" asked Annabeth.

Max thought then said finally, "If the books we read next are about us, you'll probably figure it out."

**The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy.**

**Fine, I told myself. Just fine.**

**I was homesick.**

**I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.**

**And yet... There were things I'd miss at Yancy. The view of the woods out my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees. I'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend, even if he was a little strange. I worried how he'd survive next year without me.**

Clarisse snorted. "How _he's_ gonna survive without _you? _How about how _you're_ gonna survive without _him?"_

**I'd miss Latin class, too- Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that I could do well.**

**As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for. I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told me about this subject being life-and-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him. **

**The evening before my final, I got so frustrated I threw the Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology across my dorm room. Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards. There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon, or Polydictes and Polydeuces. And conjugating those Latin verbs? Forget it.**

Iggy blinked. "You were learning about that when you were twelve? I'm fifteen, and I don't even know what you're talking about."

**I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.**

"Bad mental image. Very bad mental image," Max muttered darkly.

"You were just imagining Percy shirtless, weren't you," joked Travis.

Max sat up, her eyes blazing.

"Uh-oh," Nudge said quietly.

Then Annabeth processed what he had said.

"You're screwed," Iggy commented absently.

"Uhhh... this is awkward," Percy said.

"Don't quote Madagascar, please."

"Sorry."

"What did you just say?" Max asked, her eyes never leaving Travis' face.

"Um... sorry?"

"I'm pretty sure that that's not what you said."

"Look, Max, just let it go," sighed Dylan.

Max turned her attention to him and just looked at him for a second. "Fine." Then she added to Travis, "This conversation isn't over, you know. You're not getting off the hook that easy."

"Agreed," Annabeth said.

"Whatever! Just read!"

**I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.**

**I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book.**

**I'd never asked a teacher for help before. Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam. I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried.**

**I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.**

"This is so dramatic," Total said. "I can totally imagine this."

Pause.

"Okay, fine, when I imagine it, you look like Harry Potter, but it's the same thing, right?"

**I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said "...worried about Percy, sir. "**

**I froze.**

**I'm not usually an eavesdropper, but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.**

"Not usually an eavesdropper my foot," muttered Thalia.

**I inched closer.**

**"... alone this summer, " Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the school! Now that we know for sure, and they know too-"**

**"We would only make matters worse by rushing him, " Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more."**

"Yeah, a lot more," agreed Nico, Rachel, Annabeth, and Thalia.

"Hey!"

**"But he may not have time. The summer solstice deadline-"**

**"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can."**

"He still is, y'know," said Nico.

"I'm what?" asked Percy.

"Enjoying your ignorance."

Percy sighed. "Is there, like, a Pick on Percy club?"

"There really isn't," mused Max, "but that's a good idea. The meetings can be held right after the 'Haters of ter Borcht Club' meetings."

Everyone except for Nudge, Angel, and Total looked confused.

"Inside joke," Max added when she noticed that everyone was looking at her weird. "You'll get it later."

**"Sir, he saw her... . "**

**"His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."**

"The... missed?" asked Iggy. "What's that?"

_"Mist,_ as in m-i-s-t," explained Connor.

"What _about_ mist?"

_"The_ mist."

"Huh?"

"Oh, whatever."

"TELL ME!"

**"Sir, I... I can't fail in my duties again." Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."**

**"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall-"**

**The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.**

"Smooth, Perce, smooth," joked Thalia.

"We really gotta teach you to sneak. And not give yourself away," said Travis.

**Mr. Brunner went silent.**

**My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall.**

**A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow.**

"Um... what?" asked Gazzy. "A bow?"

**I opened the nearest door and slipped inside.**

"Smartest thing you've done so far," said Nico.

"Hey! I killed Mrs. Dodds! That was smart!"

"Not really, y'know... the smart thing to do was run for your freaking life."

**A few seconds later I heard a slow clop-clop-clop, like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, then moved on.**

**A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.**

"Again with dramatic."

**Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."**

**"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn..."**

**"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."**

**"Don't remind me."**

**The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office.**

**I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever.**

**Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm.**

**Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.**

**"Hey, " he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"**

**I didn't answer.**

**"You look awful. " He frowned. "Is everything okay?"**

**"Just... tired. "**

**I turned so he couldn't read my expression, and started getting ready for bed.**

"You know that satyrs can read emotions, right?" asked Katie.

"Yeah. Now."

**I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing.**

**But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. They thought I was in some kind of danger.**

**The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam, my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.**

"Holy bananas. Three hours?" asked the Gasman.

"Bananas?" Percy said, frowning. He'd never heard anyone swear by bananas.

"Max won't let me swear."

Max rolled her eyes. "You're nine, Gaz. Yeesh."

**For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.**

**"Percy, " he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's... it's for the best. "**

**His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.**

"Okay, now she scares me."

**I mumbled, "Okay, sir. "**

**"I mean..." Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time. "**

Total snorted. "He sounds like such an inspiring teacher."

**My eyes stung.**

**Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.**

**"Right, " I said, trembling.**

**"No, no, " Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say... you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be-"**

**"Thanks, " I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me."**

**"Percy-"**

**But I was already gone.**

"Can we say rude?" asked Total.

"Yes," said Nico, giving him a weird look. "Rude."

"I mean that he just walked out on a teacher."

**On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase.**

**The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were rich juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities. I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies.**

"I'm sort of thinking that a Greek god isn't a nobody," said Rachel.

**They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city.**

**What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.**

**"Oh, " one of the guys said. "That's cool. "**

"It is," said Nudge. "It's really cool. New York is awesome. So are honey-roasted peanuts. And the color pink. And Justin Bieber."

Everyone groaned.

"Justin Bieber? Really?" asked Connor.

Max sighed. "She talks about him all the time. I showed her a picture of Gerard Way, but it didn't work."

Thalia gave her a startled look. "You listen to MCR?"

"Yeah."

"Yet another reason that Max and Thalia are so like each other," Iggy muttered to Fang.

**They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed.**

"Can we say rude?"

"You already said that. And yes, we can. Rude."

**The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had, so there we were, together again, heading into the city.**

**During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen. Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.**

**Finally I couldn't stand it anymore.**

**I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"**

"Dude, you scared me so bad," said Grover.

"And you fell and you coulda died?" asked Rachel.

"Um... what?"

"She scared me so bad and I fell and I coulda died... sorry. You don't get it."

**Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha-what do you mean?"**

**I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.**

"Dude. Rule number one? Never confess," said Travis.

Connor frowned at his brother. "I thought rule number one was don't get caught."

"Yeah, whatever."

**Grover's eye twitched. "How much did you hear?"**

"Oh, not too much, maybe just the entire conversation," muttered Grover.

"Sorry, dude."

**"Oh... not much. What's the summer solstice deadline?"**

**He winced. "Look, Percy ... I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers ... "**

**"Grover-"**

**"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and ... "**

**"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar. "**

**His ears turned pink.**

**From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer."**

**The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes, but I finally made out something like:**

"Wait, are demigods usually dyslexic?" Nudge asked.

"Yeah, pretty much," said Annabeth.

"Then why is in fancy script?"

"Mr. D."

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

**Grover Underwood**

**Keeper**

**Half-Blood Hill**

**Long Island, New York**

**(800) 009-0009**

**"What's Half-"**

**"Don't say it aloud!" he yelped. "That's my, um... summer address."**

**My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.**

**"Okay, " I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."**

"Really, Percy?" asked Grover."

**He nodded. "Or... or if you need me. "**

**"Why would I need you?"**

"Can we say-"

"It's getting old."

**It came out harsher than I meant it to.**

**Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look, Percy, the truth is, I-I kind of have to protect you. "**

**I stared at him.**

**All year long, I'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me. And here he was acting like he was the one who defended me.**

**"Grover, " I said, "what exactly are you protecting me from?"**

**There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs. The driver cursed and limped the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.**

"Ooh, ominous," said Iggy. "I mean, he's like, what exactly are you protecting me from? and then the bus breaks."

**After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else. We were on a stretch of country road-no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars. On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.**

**The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of blood red cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice. There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.**

"Oh no," muttered Annabeth.

**I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks. The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.**

"Why electric blue?" Nudge mused randomly. "I mean, it's such an ugly color."

**All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.**

**The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me.**

**I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching.**

**"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man-"**

**"Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"**

**"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"**

"That's not funny, Percy," Annabeth said, gripping at his arm.

"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."

"Nice," snickered Iggy.

**The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors-gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath.**

**"We're getting on the bus, " he told me. "Come on. "**

**"What?" I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there. "**

"Lemme guess- he's not gonna go."

**"Come on!'" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back. Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that snip across four lanes of traffic. Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for-Sasquatch or Godzilla.**

**At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.**

**The passengers cheered.**

**"Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"**

**Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu.**

**Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering. "Grover?"**

**"Yeah?"**

**"What are you not telling me?"**

"Pretty much everything."

**He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"**

**"You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like... Mrs. Dodds, are they?"**

**His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds. He said, "Just tell me what you saw. "**

**"The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn. "**

**He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't. It was something else, something almost-older.**

_"Much_ older," agreed Katie.

"Much _much_ older," added Travis.

"Much much _much_ older," said Connor.

"Much much much _much_ older," said Gazzy, catching on.

"Much much much much _much_ older," Iggy agreed.

"Much much-" began Travis, about to start again, but Max cut him off.

**He said, "You saw her snip the cord. "**

**"Yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal.**

"A _very_ big deal."

"A very _very_ big deal."

"A very very _very_ big deal."

"A very very very _very_ big deal."

"A very very very very-"

"Oh, give me a break."

**"This is not happening, " Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time. "**

**"What last time?"**

**"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth. "**

**"Grover, " I said, because he was really starting to scare me. "What are you talking about?"**

**"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me. "**

**This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could.**

**"Is this like a superstition or something?" I asked.**

**No answer.**

**"Grover-that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"**

"How did you know that?" asked Annabeth, stunned.

Percy shrugged.

**He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin.**

"Okay, now that's just creepy," said Nico.

"I'll read next," volunteered Rachel.

**Review if you think Gerard Way is awesome! Review if you think Justin Bieber sucks! (Sorry, Bieber lovers... whaddaya call 'em? Biebelievers? I bash JBiebz a lot, just in case you haven't noticed.) Review if you got the 'she scared me so bad and I fell and I coulda died' reference!**

**Oh, and I decided to not do Dylan/Rachel. So it'll just be a sort of crush.**

**Because Rachel is too good for Dylan.**

**Ha.**


	5. Grover Unexpectedly Loses His Pants

**Heya people! 'Sup? Read the AN at the bottom. Important stuff down there.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson, Maximum Ride, or Tangled.**

"Grover Unexpectedly Loses his Pants," Rachel read.

"Uh..." Gazzy said, looking uncertain.

"Not what it sounds like!" Grover exclaimed.

"Thank God."

"Gods."

"Whatever."

**Confession time: I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal.**

"RUDE!" Thalia, Nico, Iggy, and Max yelled at the same time.

**I know, I know. It was rude.**

"See?" Thalia pointed out. "Even you agree."

**But Grover was freaking me out, looking at me like I was a dead man, muttering "Why does this always happen?" and "Why does it always have to he sixth grade?"**

"That is pretty creepy," agreed Nudge. "I mean, if someone did that to me, I'd probably- mmph-"

"Thank you, Katie," Rachel said.

Nudge managed to pry Katie's hand off long enough to say, "I barely even said- mmph!"

**Whenever he got upset, Grover's bladder acted up, so I wasn't surprised when, as soon as we got off the bus, he made me promise to wait for him, then made a beeline for the restroom. Instead of waiting, I got my suitcase, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown.**

**"East One-hundred-and-fourth and First," I told the driver.**

"I now know where you live," Iggy commented.

"...that sounded totally stalkerish, didn't it."

"How did you know?" Percy asked curiously.

"I could feel everyone looking at me weird. Including Fang, who is the most stalkerish person I know."

"Ex_cuse_ me?" Fang asked.

"Just kidding."

"...maybe."

**A word about my mother, before you meet her.**

**Her name is Sally Jackson and she's the best person in the world, which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck.**

**Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five, and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.**

"Really?" Annabeth asked. She had known that Percy's mom had been through some hard times, but she had never known that she had been forced to drop out of school.

"Yeah," Percy said quietly. He never really liked talking about his mom's past. I mean, he thought, at least she's happy now. That's all that really matters.

"You're so sweet," Angel said, smiling at Percy.

"Um... thanks?"

**The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad.**

"That's so romantic," Nudge sighed.

Nico looked at her funny. "Shortest sentence I've ever heard you say."

**I don't have any memories of him, just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile. My mom doesn't like to talk about him because it makes her sad. She has no pictures.**

**See, they weren't married. She told me he was rich and important, and their relationship was a secret. Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and he never came back.**

**Lost at sea, my mom told me. Not dead. Lost at sea.**

"Hey, not far off," Connor commented.

Travis snorted. "Yeah, because being lost at sea is so close to being the god of the sea."

"EXACTLY!"

"Ahem, sarcasm."

**She worked odd jobs, took night classes to get her high school diploma, and raised me on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. But I knew I wasn't an easy kid.**

**Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano, who was nice the first thirty seconds we knew him, then showed his true colors as a world-class jerk. When I was young, I nicknamed him Smelly Gabe. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. The guy reeked like moldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts.**

Max wrinkled her nose. "Okay, I've smelled some pretty bad things in my life-"

"Like your cooking?" Iggy inquired.

"No, like your socks," Max retorted. "Anyway, like I was saying before I was interrupted, I've smelled some pretty bad things, but that sounds-"

"Repulsive," Nudge choked, having just recovered from the description.

**Between the two of us, we made my mom's life pretty hard. The way Smelly Gabe treated her, the way he and I got along... well, when I came home is a good example.**

**I walked into our little apartment, hoping my mom would be home from work. Instead, Smelly Gabe was in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television blared ESPN. Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet.**

"I've always wondered what a place like that looks like. I mean, it must be a total man-cave," Gazzy mused.

"GAZZY!"

"Trust me," Percy snorted. "You _never_ want to experience that."

**Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, "So, you're home."**

**"Where's my mom?"**

**"Working," he said. "You got any cash?"**

"Sounds like a nice guy," Iggy snorts. "I mean, really, who wants to come home to 'Got any cash?'"

**That was it. No Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months?**

"Exactly."

**Gabe had put on weight. He looked like a tuskless walrus in thrift-store clothes. He had about three hairs on his head, all combed over his bald scalp, as if that made him handsome or something.**

"Again, repulsive."

Rachel frowned at Max in mock concern. "Nudge has been really quiet lately."

"I know," Max agreed. "Next thing we know, Fang will have a word count of over five."

**He managed the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, but he stayed home most of the time. I don't know why he hadn't been fired long before. He just kept on collecting paychecks, spending the money on cigars that made me nauseous, and on beer, of course. Always beer. Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds. He called that our "guy secret." Meaning, if I told my mom, he would punch my lights out.**

**"I don't have any cash," I told him.**

**He raised a greasy eyebrow.**

**Gabe could sniff out money like a bloodhound, which was surprising, since his own smell should've covered up everything else.**

**"You took a taxi from the bus station," he said. "Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change. Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight. Am I right, Eddie?"**

"Okay, you gotta admit that he's smart to think of that," Annabeth commented.

Everyone stared at her.

**Eddie, the super of the apartment building, looked at me with a twinge of sympathy.**

**"Come on, Gabe," he said. "The kid just got here."**

**"Am I right?" Gabe repeated.**

**Eddie scowled into his bowl of pretzels. The other two guys passed gas in harmony.**

"EEEEWWWW!"

Thalia sighed. "Nudge, how do you live with three guys and still find that disgusting?"

Nudge shrugged. "I try to avoid going in their rooms."

Iggy made a face. "My room is so disgusting, even I avoid going in it."

"Maybe it's 'cause you share it with Gazzy," suggested Nudge.

"Nah. Gazzy's the reason why it smells so bad."

**"Fine," I said. I dug a wad of dollars out of my pocket and threw the money on the table. "I hope you lose."**

**"Your report card came, brain boy!" he shouted after me. "I wouldn't act so snooty!"**

"Brain boy?" pretty much everyone asked in unison.

**I slammed the door to my room, which really wasn't my room. During school months, it was Gabe's "study." He didn't study anything in there except old car magazines, but he loved shoving my stuff in the closet, leaving his muddy boots on my windowsill, and doing his best to make the place smell like his nasty cologne and cigars and stale beer.**

"Okay, Percy, you can stop with the descriptions now. Nudge looks like she's gonna puke."

"Really?" the Stoll brothers, Gazzy, and Iggy asked interestedly, leaning forward.

"Boys," muttered Rachel.

**I dropped my suitcase on the bed. Home sweet home.**

**Gabe's smell was almost worse than the nightmares about Mrs. Dodds, or the sound of that old fruit lady's shears snipping the yarn.**

**But as soon as I thought that, my legs felt weak. I remembered Grover's look of panic—how he'd made me promise I wouldn't go home without him. A sudden chill rolled through me. I felt like someone-something-was looking for me right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons.**

**Then I heard my mom's voice. "Percy?"**

"Wait," Connor said, frowning. "You thought that your mom was a monster?"

"No!" said Percy. "I was just being paranoid, for Zeus' sake!"

Thunder rumbled overhead.

"Whoa. What was that about?" asked Fang.

"Five. Dang," Connor said.

"Huh?"

"We're counting how many words you say at one time. Your record is five."

**She opened the bedroom door, and my fears melted.**

**My mother can make me feel good just by walking into the room. Her eyes sparkle and change color in the light. Her smile is as warm as a quilt. She's got a few gray streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but I never think of her as old. When she looks at me, it's like she's seeing all the good things about me, none of the bad. I've never heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even me or Gabe.**

"Wow," Thalia said. "That must be hard. I mean, even Katie's said something mean to someone, and she's probably the nicest person here."

"Who did she yell at?" Connor inquired innocently.

"You, you dolt."

"Oh... I get yelled at by so many people, it's hard to keep track, y'know?"

**"Oh, Percy." She hugged me tight. "I can't believe it. You've grown since Christmas!"**

"Yes, because that's what teenage boys do," Iggy commented.

"He wasn't a teenager," remarked Dylan. "It said that he was twelve."

Iggy waved his hand airily and nearly whacked Rachel in the face. "A minor detail."

**Her red-white-and-blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like the best things in the world: chocolate, licorice, and all the other stuff she sold at the candy shop in Grand Central. She'd brought me a huge bag of "free samples," the way she always did when I came home.**

"Lucky," complained Travis. "Why can't my mom do that?"

Connor looked at him weirdly. "First of all, our mom is a lawyer. Second, we see her two days a year."

"Those are, and I quote, minor details."

**We sat together on the edge of the bed. While I attacked the blueberry sour strings, she ran her hand through my hair and demanded to know everything I hadn't put in my letters. She didn't mention anything about my getting expelled. She didn't seem to care about that. But was I okay? Was her little boy doing all right?**

**I told her she was smothering me, and to lay off and all that, but secretly, I was really, really glad to see her.**

**From the other room, Gabe yelled, "Hey, Sally-how about some bean dip, huh?"**

"I don't like bean dip," said Iggy. "Or anything associated with beans, really. It makes Gazzy pass gas all the more."

"Pass gas?"

"Trying to honeycoat it here."

**I gritted my teeth.**

**My mom is the nicest lady in the world. She should've been married to a millionaire, not to some jerk like Gabe.**

"Millionaires aren't exactly the best people to be married to, but I agree. Your mom deserves better," Rachel said, thinking of her parents.

**For her sake, I tried to sound upbeat about my last days at Yancy Academy. I told her I wasn't too down about the expulsion. I'd lasted almost the whole year this time. I'd made some new friends. I'd done pretty well in Latin. And honestly, the fights hadn't been as bad as the headmaster said. I liked Yancy Academy. I really did. I put such a good spin on the year, I almost convinced myself. I started choking up, thinking about Grover and Mr. Brunner. Even Nancy Bobofit suddenly didn't seem so bad.**

"Wow," said Gazzy. "You must be good at lying to yourself."

**Until that trip to the museum ...**

**"What?" my mom asked. Her eyes tugged at my conscience, trying to pull out the secrets. "Did something scare you?"**

**"No, Mom."**

"Don't lie!" Annabeth exclaimed. "She could help you."

**I felt bad lying. I wanted to tell her about Mrs. Dodds and the three old ladies with the yarn, but I thought it would sound stupid.**

**She pursed her lips. She knew I was holding back, but she didn't push me.**

**"I have a surprise for you," she said. "We're going to the beach."**

**My eyes widened. "Montauk?"**

**"Three nights—same cabin."**

**"When?"**

**She smiled. "As soon as I get changed."**

Travis frowned. "That entire conversation confused me."

**I couldn't believe it. My mom and I hadn't been to Montauk the last two summers, because Gabe said there wasn't enough money.**

**Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, "Bean dip, Sally? Didn't you hear me?"**

**I wanted to punch him, but I met my mom's eyes and I understood she was offering me a deal: be nice to Gabe for a little while. Just until she was ready to leave for Montauk. Then we would get out of here.**

**"I was on my way, honey," she told Gabe. "We were just talking about the trip."**

**Gabe's eyes got small. "The trip? You mean you were serious about that?"**

Nico rolled his eyes. "No, she's just joking about it to get Percy's hopes up."

Connor shook his head. "You're too sarcastic for your own good."

**"I knew it," I muttered. "He won't let us go."**

**"Of course he will," my mom said evenly. "Your step father is just worried about money. That's all. Besides," she added, "Gabriel won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works."**

"Oh yeah," Iggy said. "Bribing. Always works."

"Along with blackmail," added the Gasman.

"Hey! Don't forget straight-out lying!" exclaimed Travis.

"Agreed," Iggy said, fist-bumping him.

Thalia rolled her eyes. "I hate to interrupt a budding bromance, but we've got a book to finish."

All three boys gave her a mock-salute and a "sir yes SIR!"

**Gabe softened a bit. "So this money for your trip ... it comes out of your clothes budget, right?"**

"Her CLOTHES BUDGET? IS HE KIDDING?" Nudge shrieked.

"I think one of my eardrums just burst," muttered Max.

"I MEAN, HONESTLY, NO WOMAN- OR GIRL, FOR THAT MATTER- SHOULD HAVE TO USE HER CLOTHES BUDGET WHEN SHE'S GOT A HUSBAND WASTING ALL THE EXTRA MONEY ON-"

"Aaand there goes the other one."

**"Yes, honey," my mother said.**

**"And you won't take my car anywhere but there and back."**

**"We'll be very careful."**

Percy snorted. "I forgot about that."

"She said that?" Grover asked, his eyebrows raising.

"Yep," chuckled Percy. "Oh the irony."

"Lemme guess," Iggy said, tapping his chin. "You're gonna run away from some giant monster, crash his car, and escape in some big, dramatic way."

"That sounds like something Max would do," Total said, remembering something he'd said to her in Germany.

**Gabe scratched his double chin. "Maybe if you hurry with that seven-layer dip ... And maybe if the kid apologizes for interrupting my poker game."**

**Maybe if I kick you in your soft spot, I thought. And make you sing soprano for a week.**

"That's it!" agreed Clarisse.

Everyone jumped. "Whoa, forgot you were there," Nico said.

"Forgot she was ever here," Connor mumbled under his breath.

"Stop with the mumbling. You _know_ I hate the mumbling," Travis said.

"Dude, really? You watched _Tangled?"_

"OMG you watched Tangled? I forced everyone else to. Max fell asleep. On Fang. Isn't that _cute?"_ Nudge squealed.

Everyone's eyes slowly swiveled over to Max and Fang.

Max somehow glared and blushed at the same time. Fang just stared at them all impassively, as usual.

"You guys are... dating?" Rachel asked carefully.

Max scowled. "So what if we are?"

Rachel held up a hand. "Nothing, nothing. It's just sorta... cute."

Max blushed harder. A corner of Fang's mouth quirked up in a small smile.

"Ahem. We have better things to do. Like finishing the book?" suggested Iggy, bored of all the mushiness.

**But my mom's eyes warned me not to make him mad.**

"Wait, what were we reading about?" Katie asked, confused.

"Gabe was making Percy apologize to him for interrupting his poker game," Rachel clarified.

**Why did she put up with this guy? I wanted to scream. Why did she care what he thought?**

**"I'm sorry," I muttered. "I'm really sorry I interrupted your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now."**

Connor nodded approvingly. "Very nice, Percy. Sarcasm."

**Gabe's eyes narrowed. His tiny brain was probably trying to detect sarcasm in my statement.**

**"Yeah, whatever," he decided.**

**He went back to his game.**

**"Thank you, Percy," my mom said. "Once we get to Montauk, we'll talk more about... whatever you've forgotten to tell me, okay?"**

**For a moment, I thought I saw anxiety in her eyes-the same fear I'd seen in Grover during the bus ride-as if my mom too felt an odd chill in the air.**

**But then her smile returned, and I figured I must have been mistaken. She ruffled my hair and went to make Gabe his seven-layer dip.**

**An hour later we were ready to leave.**

**Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom's bags to the car. He kept griping and groaning about losing her cooking-and more important, his '78 Camaro-for the whole weekend.**

"More important?" Thalia asked, horrified. "I swear to the gods," she added, turning to Percy, "if she hasn't divorced this son of a b-"

"Thalia," warned Annabeth. "Little kids here."

Iggy muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "they've heard worse."

"Anyway," Thalia continued, "if your mom hasn't divorced that son of a... bad dude, I will go there myself and do it for her."

"I wouldn't mind joining you," commented Max.

"Whoa, whoa. Before you go murder my step-dad, I'll have you know that he's taken care of and my mom is now married to a teacher who she happens to be in love with," Percy said.

"Good," Thalia said. "You can start, Rach," she added.

**"Not a scratch on this car, brain boy," he warned me as I loaded the last bag. "Not one little scratch**."

Katie frowned. "Wait... you wouldn't be the one driving, right?" she asked.

**Like I'd be the one driving. I was twelve.**

"Katie thinks like Percy. This is scary," Nico said, edging away from Katie, who sat next to him.

"Oh, shut up," Katie said.

**But that didn't matter to Gabe. If a seagull so much as pooped on his paint job, he'd find a way to blame me.**

**Watching him lumber back toward the apartment building, I got so mad I did something I can't explain. As Gabe reached the doorway, I made the hand gesture I'd seen Grover make on the bus, a sort of warding-off-evil gesture, a clawed hand over my heart, then a shoving movement toward Gabe. The screen door slammed shut so hard it whacked him in the butt and sent him flying up the staircase as if he'd been shot from a cannon.**

"NICE!" laughed pretty much everyone in the room.

Except for Fang.

Fang doesn't laugh.

**Maybe it was just the wind, or some freak accident with the hinges, but I didn't stay long enough to find out.**

Travis grinned. "Rule Number Three- Never, and I mean _never, _hang around the crime scene."

Connor frowned. "I thought that that was rule number five."

**I got in the Camaro and told my mom to step on it.**

"I've always wanted to say that," said Nico dreamily.

**Our rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a little pastel box with faded curtains, half-sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets, and most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in.**

"Let's guess- you love it there."

**I loved the place.**

"Ya see?"

**We'd been going there since I was a baby. My mom had been going even longer. She never exactly said, but I knew why the beach was special to her. It was the place where she'd met my dad.**

"AWWWWWWW!"

"Please be quiet, Nudge."

**As we got closer to Montauk, she seemed to grow younger, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes turned the color of the sea.**

**We got there at sunset, opened all the cabin's windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine. We walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples my mom had brought from work.**

**I guess I should explain the blue food.**

"Yes, you should," Gazzy said.

**See, Gabe had once told my mom there was no such thing. They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since, my mom went out of her way to eat blue. She baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She bought blue-corn tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop. This—along with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs. Ugliano—was proof that she wasn't totally suckered by Gabe. She did have a rebellious streak, like me.**

Iggy snorted. "Streak? You? If the amount of your rebelliousness was blue, you'd be totally blue. Like a Smurf."

Silence.

"It made sense in my head!"

**When it got dark, we made a fire. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Mom told me stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She told me about the books she wanted to write someday, when she had enough money to quit the candy shop.**

**Eventually, I got up the nerve to ask about what was always on my mind whenever we came to Montauk- my father. Mom's eyes went all misty. I figured she would tell me the same things she always did, but I never got tired of hearing them.**

**"He was kind, Percy," she said. "Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too. You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes."**

**Mom fished a blue jelly bean out of her candy bag.**

"See! You do associate everything with the water! You know, fished?" exclaimed Travis excitedly.

**"I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud."**

**I wondered how she could say that. What was so great about me? A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with a D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years.**

**"How old was I?" I asked. "I mean... when he left?"**

**She watched the flames. "He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach. This cabin."**

**"But... he knew me as a baby."**

**"No, honey. He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never saw you. He had to leave before you were born."**

**I tried to square that with the fact that I seemed to remember... something about my father. A warm glow. A smile.**

**I had always assumed he knew me as a baby. My mom had never said it outright, but still, I'd felt it must be true. Now, to be told that he'd never even seen me...**

Max winced. "Ouch."

**I felt angry at my father. Maybe it was stupid, but I resented him for going on that ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry my mom. He'd left us, and now we were stuck with Smelly Gabe.**

"Percy?" Angel asked.

Percy looked up. "Yeah?"

"You do know that your dad is sorry about that now, right?"

"How- how did you know that?"

Angel gave him an angelic (get it? Angelic? Angel? Oh, forget it) smile. "I don't know. I just do."

"Well- yeah. I do now. Thanks."

**"Are you going to send me away again?" I asked her. "To another boarding school?"**

**She pulled a marshmallow from the fire.**

**"I don't know, honey." Her voice was heavy. "I think... I think we'll have to do something."**

**"Because you don't want me around?"**

"Percy!" Annabeth accused. "Don't be like that. You know you mom loves you."

**I regretted the words as soon as they were out.**

"That's more like it," Annabeth said, smiling and squeezing her boyfriend's hand.

"OMG! You two are almost as cute as Fax!" Nudge squealed.

"Fax?" everyone asked in confusion.

"Fang and Max, _duh!"_

"...I'm still confused," Iggy muttered to Fang.

"I know, same," Fang muttered back.

**My mom's eyes welled with tears. She took my hand, squeezed it tight. "Oh, Percy, no. I-I have to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you away."**

**Her words reminded me of what Mr. Brunner had said-that it was best for me to leave Yancy.**

**"Because I'm not normal," I said.**

**"You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe."**

**"Safe from what?"**

**She met my eyes, and a flood of memories came back to me—all the weird, scary things that had ever happened to me, some of which I'd tried to forget.**

**During third grade, a man in a black trench coat had stalked me on the playground. When the teachers threatened to call the police, he went away growling, but no one believed me when I told them that under his broad-brimmed hat, the man only had one eye, right in the middle of his head.**

"Do you think that your dad sent it? To check on you?" Annabeth asked Percy in an undertone.

He shrugged.

**Before that—a really early memory. I was in preschool, and a teacher accidentally put me down for a nap in a cot that a snake had slithered into. My mom screamed when she came to pick me up and found me playing with a limp, scaly rope I'd somehow managed to strangle to death with my meaty toddler hands.**

"Holy cr-"

"Max," Fang warned.

"Fine then. Holy crud. A SNAKE?"

Fang allowed himself a small smirk. "Max is scared of snakes, in case you haven't noticed."

Everyone stared.

Then Iggy broke the silence. "TEN!"

The Stoll brothers started cheering.

Fang rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Just read."

**In every single school, something creepy had happened, something unsafe, and I was forced to move.**

**I knew I should tell my mom about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds at the art museum, about my weird hallucination that I had sliced my math teacher into dust with a sword. But I couldn't make myself tell her. I had a strange feeling the news would end our trip to Montauk, and I didn't want that.**

Annabeth sighed, exasperated. "You don't tell your mom about run-ins with monsters for the sake of a trip to the beach."

"Yep."

**"I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could," my mom said. "They told me that was a mistake. But there's only one other option, Percy—the place your father wanted to send you. And I just... I just can't stand to do it."**

**"My father wanted me to go to a special school?"**

**"Not a school," she said softly. "A summer camp."**

"Enter Camp Half-Blood!" Travis said cheerfully.

**My head was spinning. Why would my dad- who hadn't even stayed around long enough to see me born- talk to my mom about a summer camp? And if it was so important, why hadn't she ever mentioned it before?**

**"I'm sorry, Percy," she said, seeing the look in my eyes. "But I can't talk about it. I—I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean saying good-bye to you for good."**

**"For good? But if it's only a summer camp..."**

"Wait, I'm confused..." Iggy said. "So there's this summer camp that your dad wanted you to go to, but your mom doesn't want to send you there because it mean saying goodbye to you for good? And- wait, what's Camp Half-Blood?"

Nico grinned. "Just wait, and you'll see."

Iggy glared at Nico's left eyebrow.

**She turned toward the fire, and I knew from her expression that if I asked her any more questions she would start to cry.**

**That night I had a vivid dream.**

**It was storming on the beach, and two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, were trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf.**

**The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse's muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagles wings. As they fought, the ground rumbled, and a monstrous voice chuckled somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.**

**I ran toward them, knowing I had to stop them from killing each other, but I was running in slow motion. I knew I would be too late. I saw the eagle dive down, its beak aimed at the horse's wide eyes, and I screamed, No!**

"That's weird," Total commented.

"Weird isn't really the word for it. More like creepy," Thalia said, frowning at the dog.

"No, I was talking about the fact that normally I can't talk in my dreams."

**I woke with a start.**

**Outside, it really was storming, the kind of storm that cracks trees and blows down houses. There was no horse or eagle on the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery.**

**With the next thunderclap, my mom woke. She sat up, eyes wide, and said,**

**"Hurricane."**

**I knew that was crazy. Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in the summer. But the ocean seemed to have forgotten.**

Thalia snorted. "Or maybe your dad is just really mad."

**Over the roar of the wind, I heard a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that made my hair stand on end.**

**Then a much closer noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice- someone yelling, pounding on our cabin door.**

**My mother sprang out of bed in her nightgown and threw open the lock.**

"Your mom wears a nightgown?" Iggy asked incredulously.

Percy glared.

Iggy held up his hands in denial, laughing despite himself. "Just wondering. I mean, barely anyone wears nightgowns anymore."

**Grover stood framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain. But he wasn't... he wasn't exactly Grover.**

"So then what was he?" inquired Connor curiously.

"You've got to be kidding me," Grover said, frowning.

"Um... no?"

"Whatever," Percy sighed.

**"Searching all night," he gasped. "What were you thinking?"**

**My mother looked at me in terror—not scared of Grover, but of why he'd come.**

**"Percy," she said, shouting to be heard over the rain. "What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?"**

**I was frozen, looking at Grover. I couldn't understand what I was seeing.**

"Get on with it!" groaned Connor. "I really wanna know! What's wrong with Grover?"

Max stared at him for a second. "Are you really that dense?"

"How do you know?" Connor asked, puzzled.

"Whatever. You'll get it later."

**_"O Zeu kai alloi theoi!" _****he yelled. "It's right behind me! Didn't you tell her?"**

**I was too shocked to register that he'd just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I'd understood him perfectly.**

"He just cursed? In Ancient Greek?" Iggy asked incredulously.

"I wish I could do that," Gazzy said wistfully. "Then Max wouldn't bust me all the time for swearing."

**I was too shocked to wonder how Grover had gotten here by himself in the middle of the night. Because Grover didn't have his pants on- and where his legs should be... where his legs should be...**

"Dude, seriously, stop with the stalling!" complained Travis.

"You don't know either?" demanded Thalia.

"Nope."

"Good gods. How dense can those two get?"

**My mom looked at me sternly and talked in a tone she'd never used before: "Percy. Tell me now!"**

**I stammered something about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds, and my mom stared at me, her face deathly pale in the flashes of lightning.**

"Oooh, dramatic!" Nico said sarcastically.

**She grabbed her purse, tossed me my rain jacket, and said, "Get to the car. Both of you. Go!"**

**Grover ran for the Camaro- but he wasn't running, exactly. He was trotting, shaking his shaggy hindquarters, and suddenly his story about a muscular disorder in his legs made sense to me. I understood how he could run so fast and still limp when he walked.**

**Because where his feet should be, there were no feet. There were cloven hooves.**

"Oh! I get it now!" exclaimed Travis.

"How did you know?" demanded Connor of Max.

She gestured to Grover. "Percy said in the book that he looked like a normal kid, so he was probably using some sort of disguise, because... well, look at him now."

Connor looked.

Grover wasn't wearing his 'I'm a normal kid!' disguise.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Suddenly, the mysterious voice started up again. _As you may have noticed, this room is only one of a house that you all will live in for the time being. There are four bedrooms- two for the girls, two for the boys. There is also a small kitchen stocked with all the food you shall need. Please figure out your sleeping arrangements. You will read the next chapter tomorrow._

"Oookay then..." Iggy muttered. "Creep much?"

"Come on!" Nudge said excitedly. "We get to pick out bedrooms! Oooh, I hope there's a pink one. Do you think that there's enough space for everyone? I really hope so..."

Her voice trailed down a hallway that no one had noticed before.

"I guess we're going, then," Max said, following her.

**So! Sorry about the late update! How was your guys' Christmas? Or whatever holiday you celebrate? The next chapter will be slightly filler-y. Yeah. Oh, hey, and I was thinking- should they only read the first book of both series? Or more? Tell me what you think!**

**_She's not a saint, and she's not what you think/She's an actress, whoa/She's better known for the things that she does on the mattress, whoa/Soon she's gonna find stealing other people's toy on the playground won't make you many friends/She should keep in mind, she should keep in mind/There is nothing I do better than revenge, ha_**


	6. Pointless stuff

** - Thank you so much! I agree. Nico and Fang remind me so much of each other it's weird. Plus Anubis, from the Kane Chronicles...**

**Jade-Queen of Fantasy- You have a pretty great story, yourself. ;-)**

**Definitely a filler. Mucho Fax and Percabeth. Enjoy!**

"This looks like a room for three," Annabeth said, stepping into a room on her left.

"This one's another for three," added Max, poking her head in a room across from Annabeth.

"Here's one for four!" Gazzy yelled, running past the girls. "And it has bunk beds! Awesome!"

"One for two. Looks like it's for girls," Fang commented, looking in another room and blinking at the brightness of the walls.

"OMG! Pink walls!" Nudge squealed, jumping up and down in her excitement.

"It's like having a lot of siblings," Angel said to Travis, smiling.

"What about the flock?" he asked, looking down at the little girl. "Aren't they your family?"

"They are and I love them, but with you guys, it would be even bigger. I can imagine it- Max is the protective, tough older sister, Annabeth is the smart one, you, Connor, Iggy, and Gazzy are the silly, troublemaking brothers..." Angel trailed off, smiling to herself.

"_HEY! _Ange! You and I get to share the pink room!" Nudge shrieked from down the hall.

"Cool!" Angel took off, leaving Travis to wonder how one girl could be so cute.

**linebreakyay**

"Hey, Max?"

Max turned. "'Sup?"

"Do you mind sharing a room with me and Annabeth?" Thalia asks. "Nudge and Angel are sharing the pink one, and Katie, Rachel and Clarisse took the other one."

"Sure, no prob," Max agreed.

Annabeth came running up to them. "Thalia, Max, you have got to see this!"

All three girls ran toward the room at the end of the hall, Annabeth in the lead.

"Holy crud..." Max muttered, walking over to the window. It was floor-to-ceiling, practically a wall of glass, and it looked out over the most beautiful city she had ever seen.

"Athens, Greece," Annabeth breathed reverently, standing next to Max and gazing at her beloved city.

"Hey, check it out!" Thalia was already moving on to the rest of the room. It was about average size, but it was more of a rectangle than a square. Three beds lay parallel to each other, with night stands connecting them.

"HEY! Max! You'll never believe this!" Gazzy screeched suddenly, bolting into the room. "OUR ROOM HAS A LOFT! IT'S AWESOME!"

"Gazzy's just excited because we haven't lived in a lot of houses before," Max said, grinning apologetically at Annabeth and Thalia.

With that, she disappeared with the Gasman, leaving the two demigods to wonder what she'd meant.

**linebreakyay**

"So, you and Max are dating, huh?" Connor asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Aaaand now I'm regretting not sharing a room with Iggy and Gazzy," Fang said absently.

"Seriously, though. You really are? Dating her, I mean?" Travis asked.

"Why do you care?"

Percy snorted. "He needs tips on how to get a girl."

Fang frowned. "Why?"

"'Cause he's in love with Katie, that's why," retorted Connor.

"I AM NOT!" Travis yelled, leaping from his bed to Connor's. He looked like he was about to strangle his twin, but he was interrupted by a cough.

"I was going to ask whether you wanted your clothes, but this is obviously a bad time." Katie herself turned on her heel, still carrying the three duffel bags.

"Hey! Wait!" Travis shouted after her, jumping off of his twin and running after her.

"See what I mean?" Connor asked, rolling his eyes. "Head over heels, that kid is."

"Noticed," Fang mumbled.

"Agreed," Percy said just as softly.

"Oh right, because you're both in love too. Of course you'd notice," Connor grumped. "I'm sharing a room with three lovesick boys. Just what I've always wanted."

**linebreakyay**

"What're you listening to?" Thalia asked, jumping onto the foot of Max's bed with a thump. Max, in response, yanked one earphone out of her ear and handed it to Thalia.

Half a day and they're almost like sisters, Annabeth mused to herself. She had to admit it: she was a little jealous. She had taken this as a chance to hang out with Thalia, who she hadn't seen in a while, but now Thalia was getting to know Max better, and they had so much in common, unlike Annabeth and Thalia.

Suddenly there was a loud sound and Nudge and Angel bounded into the room, talking a mile a minute. "Percy said- and then Connor said- and Percy was thinking about you, Annabeth, and-"

"Whoa whoa whoa," Max said, holding up her hands in the international stop signal. "What's going on?"

"PERCY WAS THINKING ABOUT ANNABETH!"

Max still looked confused, Thalia was cracking up, and Annabeth had turned into a tomato with hair. "Can't a guy think about his best friend?"

"Not when he was thinking about KISSING HER!"

Long silence.

Then finally, to Annabeth, "You two are dating?"

Annabeth gave her a minuscule smile. "So what if we are?"

Max grinned back. "Nothing. It's just... kinda cute."

And just like that, the two girls were friends.

**Pretty much pointless. Also, part of the next chapter will be sorta filler-y too, but they'll go back to reading.**

**On a completely unrelated subject, I learned how to say "Montpelier" the right way. (Apparently, if you say "mont-pee-lee-air", you're saying it wrong. It's French.)**


	7. IMPORTANT!

**So, hey, you guys. I'm sorry, but after a LOT of thinking, I decided that I'm going to discontinue my stories. I had a lot of fun on this site, but I feel like fanfiction just isn't my thing, and I'm working on an original story, and school is crazy, and I'm dedicating my time to tumblr, so yeah. I might decide to recontinue them, but probably later. But I will keep in touch, so if you'd like to PM me, I'm always here. ;)**

**In short, I'm taking a break from .**

**See ya around?**


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